Hitting Delmon Young in the back with a fastball will not make second place any sweeter.

But it has to be done. Someone needs to drill Young in the ribs. That's the way baseball is and, frankly, that's the way life is. Consider this: if a bully knocks down a kid on the playground, what is the kid supposed to do? I'll tell you what he should do -- no matter how big the bully is, hit him in the nose as hard as possible, tackle him, do whatever is necessary but definitely retaliate. If the kid doesn't fight back, he can't go to the playground or anywhere else without being hounded. On a side note, one of my favorite scenes in the Billy Bob Thornton film Bad Santa is the one where Thornton, dressed in the Santa suit, drives to the playground and just drubs the bully who has was giving the kid (listed in the credits as "the kid") a hard time. Great stuff.

Anyway, it is drag that peaceful, law abiding people have to confront bullies (like hothead Delmon Young) but that's the way things have always been. The Sox need to retaliate in order to re-establish order and equilibrium. If they don't, the Twins can push them around indefinitely.